MPRA

Chapter 20

“I’m just relieved to be out of that tent.”

Ivanna let out a refreshing laugh as she took a sip of warm tea.

Fortunately, the Duchy’s party had halted right after arriving at a fairly large count’s castle. The road for carriages to travel to and from the ducal territory had been cleared.

She had expected there would be no delays in their schedule unless another landslide occurred like before, but she hadn’t realized there was a wide and deep river on the path leading out of the count’s territory.

Since the river level had dangerously surged right up to the underside of the bridge, they were helplessly stranded once more until the rain stopped.

I really hope we reach the ducal territory soon.

She wondered what kind of change of heart he had experienced after distributing meals to the villagers.

Ever since that day, the Duke’s attitude had reverted right back to how it was originally.

Had he been displeased about sharing the food? If so, he shouldn’t have granted permission in the first place.

Ivanna pouted as she looked around the neatly arranged bedroom.

To think his grudges ran this long.

Ivanna decided to update her assessment of Cedric. Cold and distant he may be, and though he knew how to apologize, he was a man who held a long grudge.

Still, it was a relief that the bed here was spacious. No matter how far she stretched out her arm, there was no chance of her bumping into the Duke like last time.

The bedroom the Count provided was large and comfortable. It seemed he had intentionally built a detached annex for the Duke. Though far removed from the Count’s main living quarters, it directly overlooked the garden.

Had it not been for the drought, the garden, which should have been blooming with beautiful flowers, looked bleak and desolate.

The pattering rain and the grey sky. Perhaps due to the weather, her mood drooped low.

She wished she could return safely to the capital without anything happening, just like this.

Since it had begun raining in the ducal territory, rain would likely fall in other regions now as well.

Once the drought completely vanished, any worries about her divine power being exposed would disappear altogether.

Fading away from people’s attention.

It was what she had longed for so desperately. So why on earth did her mood feel this strange?

Ivanna quietly surveyed the empty bedroom. After arriving at the Count’s estate, Cedric came in late at night and left early in the morning.

As expected, his words had been correct.

Do not harbor expectations beyond what is necessary.

So this was the reason he had stated it so flatly on the day they signed the contract.

Ivanna wrinkled the tip of her nose once and gathered her coat.

Sitting alone like some miserable soul felt worse than taking a walk around the annex.

“Are you going out?”

“No. I’m just going to walk down the hallway a bit. You stay here.”

Since they said the annex had been emptied out entirely for their sake, there wouldn’t be anyone to run into.

Telling Anthony and Ethan that she would walk around alone, Ivanna slowly began walking down the corridor.

Just as she was about to step down the stairs, she overheard the voices of servants conversing from below.

“Did you hear that this rain is thanks to Her Highness?”

Freeze.

“They say the heavens granted a blessing for the Duke who took in the abandoned Princess?”

“Hey, does that make any sense? Unless the Princess is hiding her divine power, of course.”

Evading the servants who were dusting the window frames with feather dusters as they chatted, Ivanna hid herself behind a pillar.

“Rumor has it that the Princess, who failed to receive divine power, prayed to God with tears in her eyes, which made it rain?”

Checking her surroundings, a servant spoke in a low voice.

“If the Princess had received divine power, there’s no way she’d stay quiet. I heard she’s terribly vain and extravagant, too.”

“Still, considering all that, didn’t she look rather plain and modest?”

Unaware of the truth, the servants babbled away about the rumors floating around the ducal territory.

“She’s probably just pretending for now.”

“Right? Well, receiving divine power means being recognized as royalty again. If it were me, I’d reveal it immediately.”

The women burst into low laughter, remarking that if that were the case, they would want to fill an entire room with dresses.

“Well, it’s not like she’d hide it. But isn’t it really strange? Rain started falling the moment she went on inspection with His Grace.”

Carefully dusting off the window frame, a maid looked out at the rain—a rare sight after so long—and spoke.

“It must be a coincidence.”

“Right? Whatever it is, I just hope the rain doesn’t stop and keeps falling.”

Ivanna covered her mouth to conceal her ragged breathing.

There are people who think I have divine power?

Just because rain fell on the day royalty visited, were they assuming she might have received divine power?

“If Her Highness really does have divine power, she’s the Duchess now. Wouldn’t she use her divine power for the Reynolds Duchy instead of the Imperial Family?”

“What do you mean, ‘if’? The Princess was the only royal who failed to receive divine power, and no royal has ever received it belatedly.”

At the hopeful maid’s words, her colleague chided her and cut her off.

“Hey, but still. God might have felt pity for the Princess and given her divine power as a gift, you know.”

Even while thinking it was an absurd assumption, Ivanna bit her lip hard.

Because the fact that she had received divine power again from God was true.

Ivanna turned her body right back around.

I shouldn’t have made it rain.

She had done it simply because seeing innocent people suffer pained her, but it had turned into useless meddling.

Instead, she was getting dragged into strange rumors and having her divine power suspected. What if the Imperial Family demanded her return?

Stepping back into her bedroom, Ivanna gasped for breath.

“It’s fine. It’s fine. What they’re saying is all pure speculation.”

Leaning against the bedroom door, Ivanna soothed herself.

It was a blessing that, excluding herself, there wasn’t a single royal who hadn’t received divine power.

The reason she refused to reveal her divine power was because of the damn expectations that would follow the moment she announced it.

Even while knowing that the only reason the Imperial Family would seek her out again was for her power, she might end up giving them her heart anyway.

She lacked the confidence to endure the misery that empty, superficial love would bring.

Suddenly, she felt an urge to just run away like this.

Ivanna gazed at the pattering rain with dark, sunken eyes.

Could I not just be washed away and vanish along with the rainwater?

She swallowed the familiar surge of resentment and grief that rose within her. The chill of the quiet room where she remained alone seemed to seep straight into her bones.

She needed warm heat and laughter.

She shouldn’t act spoiled toward Sola and Anthony anymore, though.

Slide.

Ivanna’s body collapsed onto the floor as if breaking down.

To think she had no one she could call upon with a light heart.

Letting out a hollow laugh, Ivanna sat on the cold floor for a long time, staring aimlessly at the rain pouring outside the window.

​* * *

“It is almost as if Your Grace brought the rain along with you.”

“It was simply good luck.”

At Count Lavern’s words, Cedric shook his head. The rain that began in the small village fell relentlessly, as if making up for what hadn’t fallen all this time.

The rain that had temporarily paused in the morning was drizzling down once more.

“How is the Countess’s condition?”

“There is no real improvement.”

At Count Lavern’s bitter face, Cedric let out a faint sigh.

“Still, she is delighted that you took the time to visit our territory.”

“I shall make time to see the Countess.”

“My wife will be overjoyed simply by your visiting her separately.”

Countess Lavern suffered from ‘Mana Corrosion Syndrome.’ The sudden onset of the illness had deteriorated her health before anything could be done, reducing her to a state of barely receiving life-sustaining treatment.

“I shall look further to see if there are any good medicinal herbs.”

“What you have already done so far is more than enough. You even brought the rain with you this time.”

“This is not my doing.”

Gazing at the rain, Cedric spoke firmly to the smiling Count.

“Do you know that there are even claims being made that this rain means God has not yet abandoned the Imperial Family?”

“Unfounded rumors are circulating here as well, it seems.”

Everywhere one went, there were bound to be gossips who enjoyed inventing and spreading tales.

However, the fact that the Princess was being brought up simultaneously regarding the rain falling in the south was suspicious.

Had someone pulled strings behind the scenes?

Cedric was bothered by the movement connecting the rain to the Princess.

It was almost as if they were egging people on to believe that the Princess had received a divine power related to rain.

“The Princess did not receive divine power. Is that not a fact confirmed by the Imperial Family and the relic overseer?”

“That is true. However, is it not also a fact that the Princess was cast aside by the Imperial Family and the Empire because of that? It went so far that the common people even thought God had abandoned the Imperial Family altogether.”

Thus, the rain falling on the south after a long drought was practically no different from a divine blessing.

People pondering why God would grant rain exclusively to the south finally recalled the Princess.

Ever since the Day of Divine Power, she had never appeared in public even once under the pretext of frail health.

Because she failed to receive divine power, even the Empress’s infidelity was suspected, but bloodline testing confirmed her as the Emperor’s biological child.

Even after marrying Duke Reynolds, the Princess remained in seclusion, using her health as an excuse.

“Since rain began falling alongside Her Highness’s visit to the territory, is it not natural for people to think God is blessing the south?”

At the Count’s slyly smiling words, Cedric shook his head.

“Still, it is excessive speculation. If it proves untrue, one must also consider the complications that will follow.”

He could not take the rumors purely in a positive light. Those of royal blood were far more tenacious and calculating than one might think.